Rail benders have generally been constructed so as to provide a single point center brace post from which extends angled arms forming a substantially triangular frame, with the free ends of the arms supporting hydraulic cylinders that include rams for engaging and bending a rail about the center brace post.
These basic prior devices were primarily designed for bending rails and therefore when the device was required to be used as a rail straightener the ram heads were required to be rotated so as to engage the vertical portion of the rail at which points straightening forces was applied at such rail portions rather than at the rail's head and base. The most vulnerable part of the rail, is through its vertical portion as this is the thinnest area of the entire rail structure. By applying any force to such vertical portion of the rail, distortion and warping of the rail is produced thereby effecting it's stability as a supporting structure for trains and the like.